Love Heals
by ReallyObsessiveWriter
Summary: Maureen is heartbroken after she and Joanne break up at their engagement party, but every time she tries to apologize, Joanne ignores her. What will Joanne do when Maureen is seriously injured? Set two months after Take Me or Leave Me.
1. It Won't Last

_**I've had this idea for awhile and I've decided to post it and see what everyone thinks. I'll be keeping up with my other stories as well as this one, so updates will be made regularly. I don't like to leave you guys hanging. Enjoy!**_

Maureen walked along the empty street late at night, her hands in the pockets of her jeans and scuffing her shoes on the worn sidewalk. It had been two months since she and Joanne had broken up at their engagement party. She had tried to talk to her ex-girlfriend multiple times, but every time, she would just get a glare.

Streetlights stood at even intervals, casting a dim, yellow grow on the sidewalk beneath. Her hair gleamed in the sparse light even though she had barely paid any attention to herself in the past few weeks. Makeup lay abandoned on the dresser in her room at the loft, this was the first time she had worn jeans in a long time, and she didn't work on her protests.

Ever since that day when she and Joanne had broken up, she had barely talked at all. She didn't perform, didn't try out for any off-Broadway shows as she usually did, and stayed in her room at the loft all day. Joanne had made her move out of her apartment, so Roger, Mark, and Collins had helped her move her things back into the loft where she had lived before she had met Joanne.

No one acted the same around her. They all gave her sympathetic glances and spoke quietly, like they were talking to someone in the hospital. Roger and Mark had tired to get her to go out with them, Mimi invited her to stay in her apartment with her, and Collins and Angel had just said to give her space for a while.

They seemed to think that she couldn't hear them. Whenever she was in the room, they would just move a few inches and talk in their normal voices. Joanne was mentioned a lot. Apparently, she had already gotten over Maureen and was once again focusing on her job. Her job had always been important to her, and when something went wrong, she would just dive in and forget about the world.

She started to cross the street and froze in the middle of the road when she realized that she had automatically headed towards Joanne's apartment. It would be bad for her to show up there this late at night, especially if Joanne was actually there. As tempted as she was to continue the familiar path into the building and up the stairs, she knew it wouldn't be the best idea.

Turning to go back to the loft, she heard the sound of a car coming to her right and stood there, watching a semi truck barreling towards her.

Joanne snapped her briefcase shut and slipped her coat on. Nodding to her receptionist a she left the office, she ignored her cell phone vibrating in her pocket. They would call back if it was urgent.

She had worked late that night to get her mind off her recent breakup with Maureen. Her ex-girlfriend had approached her several times since their engagement party disaster, but she just couldn't bring herself to forgive Maureen again. She had broken her heart one too many times.

Getting into her car, Joanne turned onto the radio, squeezing her eyes shut and turning it back off when she heard one of the songs Maureen always sang along to. Anything that reminded her of the drama queen made her heart break into a thousand pieces, and that meant she couldn't do a lot of things anymore. She barely hung out with Mark, Mimi, Roger, Collins, and Angel anymore because she was afraid they would bring Maureen up; she couldn't listen to the radio because Maureen sang along to every song she heard; and she couldn't go home after work at the normal time because she would always be expecting Maureen to be there waiting for her.

As she pulled up to her apartment building and into the parking area, she was surprised to see a gathering of ambulances, police cars, and fire trucks around her building. The street was usually deserted at night, so it couldn't have been a car accident, and it didn't look like the building was on fire. She parked her car and walked up to a police officer to ask what was going on.

"Excuse me, officer, is something wrong?" she asked. "I live in the apartment building right here, am I allowed to go in?"

He looked up. "Ah, yes, you can go into your building. Someone was hit by a vehicle, a semi by the looks of it. We'll be clearing out in a few hours."

She walked into her building and slowly walked up the stairs, wondering who had been hit. No one ever walked down her street this late at night as far as she knew. The only people who lived in the apartment buildings were people who had regular day jobs and couldn't afford to stay up late because they had to get up early the next day for work.

Pushing her key into the lock of her apartment door, she turned the knob and walked in, setting her briefcase on the kitchen table and going into the small living room. Sitting down, she immediately stood up again to pull her vibrating phone out of her pocket.

"This is Joanne Jefferson," she answered.

"Joanne? Oh, finally, you wouldn't pick up before. Look, it's Mark. Before you say anything about how it's late, you need to come down to Saint Vincent's Hospital. There's been an accident."

"What happened?" she asked, already heading out the door.

"It's complicated, I'll tell you when you get here. Do you need directions?"

"No, I know where it is. Where do you want me to meet you?"

"Just inside the main entrance," he said.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes," she said, hanging up the phone.

Every possible situation ran through her head. Mimi, Roger, Collins, Or Angel were there because of their AIDS. Mimi had been mugged on the way back to her apartment from the Catscratch Club. She was back on drugs and had taken an overdose. Roger was back on drugs and had taken an overdose. Collins had been mugged again. Angel stood up to someone he shouldn't have. The possibilities were endless.

Pulling into the parking lot, she hurried out of the car and just inside the main entrance of the hospital. Mark was there, and, surprisingly, without his camera.

"Mark, what happened?" she asked as she neared him. "Is it Mimi?"

He shook his head. "No, Mimi's at the Catscratch Club finishing up her shift. Roger head over tog get her and they'll be over as soon as they can. They'll be taking a taxi."

"It isn't Angel, is it?" Joanne asked, eyes wide.

"He was at a Life Support meeting. Collins headed over to grab him. He was helping me fix Maur- I mean some equipment when we got the call."

"If it isn't any of them, what happened?" she asked, getting confused.

"It's Maureen," he said quickly, looking away.

She stepped back. "Why didn't you tell me over the phone?" she asked. "I would have never come if you had."

"Wait, that's not it!" Mark said as Joanne turned away to leave. "Look, Joanne, the doctor said that she… she probably won't last the night."

_**Well, there you go, hope you liked it. I'll try to get another chapter up this coming week, but my other stories are coming first since I started them first. Please review, I really want to know what you think!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_


	2. Against All Odds

_**Here's the next chapter. I'm sorry I didn't get it up yesterday, but I had a lot of stuff to do. Enjoy!**_

Joanne froze for a moment before turning around to face Mark, trying to see if he was lying. She was good at telling if someone wasn't telling the truth because of her being a lawyer, and, unfortunately, Mark wasn't lying as far as she could tell. He actually looked more stressed out than usual, and it couldn't just be about paying the rent.

"You're serious?" she asked softly. "This isn't some joke that Maureen's playing on me to try and get me back?"

He shook his head. "I don't think she would ever trick you into believing that she was dying, and even if she did, I would never agree to help her. Besides, she sort of ambushes you when she's trying to get you back. You aren't expecting her at that moment, and she bombards you with questions, and you end up taking her back in the end."

"Did that happen to you, too?" Joanne asked.

He nodded. "Every time we 'broke up,'" he said, using air quotes. "And every time I couldn't say no, mainly because of that face she gives you."

Joanne nodded, smiling slightly as she remembered Maureen's infamous puppy dog pout face. And then she remembered why she was standing with Mark so late at night in the main entrance of Saint Vincent's hospital. "But she's not going to be doing that any time soon," she whispered.

Mark's face fell. "Yeah," he whispered back. "Do… do you want to see her?"

"Would she want to see me?" she asked.

"I… I don't… think… she'll see you," he said slowly, looking away. "She's, uh, she isn't conscious."

That's when Joanne started to cry. Mark looked at her with wide eyes, not knowing what to do. He stood there for a few minutes before awkwardly patting her on the shoulder. "It's going to be okay," he said uncertainly.

"No it's not," she sobbed. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't been so stupid, then she would be okay right now. But I had to go and ignore her."

"Uh, I… um, I don't know what to say," he finally said, giving up on trying to comfort her.

"You idiot, move out of the way," Angel said, suddenly appearing out of nowhere. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, looking as normal as possible because Collins had requested it of him for their visit to the hospital. "Oh, come here, honey, it's really going to be okay."

He opened his arms and Joanne leaned into him. Collins stood behind him with Mimi and Roger following close behind. Mimi's make-up was running down her face, mingling with her tears, Roger looked grim, but seemed to be holding up well as he held Mimi close to him. Collins looked like he was one step away from breaking down and the only thing that seemed to hold him together was the fact that Angel was right there with him.

"Here, it's going to be okay," Angel whispered as Joanne started to calm down and pulled away from him. "Dry your tears and Mark can take us up to see Maureen. She's going to get better, and you know that. Our Maureen's a fighter, and the doctors didn't take that into account."

Mark opened his mouth to contradict Angel, but Collins glared at him, stomping on his foot to get him to shut up. He glared at Collins in return and limped away from him, wincing every time he put any weight on his foot.

Joanne nodded, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Okay," she said. "Yeah, I want to see Maureen. Maybe… maybe she'll wake up for me."

"Come on, let's go," Angel said, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Mark, get up here and lead the way because you're the only one who has any idea where her room is. Hurry up, let's go, stop limping."

He scowled at Angel and Collins and hurried his pace, leading them into the hospital, up elevators, through halls, and down stairs. Finally, they arrived in a quiet hallway with doctors and nurses murmuring sympathetically to men and women who had tears streaming down their faces. Mark stopped in front of a room with a closed door and stood back, nodding at Angel.

"This is it," he said quietly. "She's the only one in there. The doctor said no more than two people in the room at the same time, so… well, obviously Joanne's going to want to go in, but I don't know who should go with her."

"Collins can go," Roger said, surprising everyone. "After all, he's Maureen's best friend, besides Joanne."

"Come on," Collins said, stepping forward, and putting an arm around Joanne's shoulders. "We can do this together."

He reached out for the doorknob and slowly turned it walking in and looking back at Joanne, who was standing hesitantly in the doorway. Collins held out his hand and she shook her head, walking into the room and gasping when she saw Maureen.

The brunette had bruises and small cuts covering her face and her once-shining hair was matted with blood. Her breaths were shallow, forced in and out of her by a mask that had been placed over her mouth and nose. White bandages stained with red were wrapped around her left arm and both of her legs, and nurses were rushing around the large room, gathering supplies to help staunch the bleeding. Maureen's stomach was exposed to reveal more bandages, and Joanne shuttered to think of what injuries lay beneath them.

"Are you family?" one of the nurses asked obnoxiously. "Because if you aren't, you have to get out."

"I'm her fiancée," Joanne said, lying easily. It had been true two months ago, and she and Maureen hadn't talked about "officially" breaking up, so it wasn't a total lie. "And this is my brother." That wasn't a lie, either. He was like a brother to her.

"Oh, okay," the nurse said sympathetically. "How about all of those people standing outside the door? They can't come in all at the same time, two people at a time. Are they family?"

Joanne hesitated and Collins stepped in. "They're as close to a family as she has," he said. "She doesn't have anyone else."

"Well, tell them two at a time," the nurse said, turning back Maureen and injecting something in a tube that was connected to a needle that was inserted in her arm. Joanne pulled up to the side of the bed and sat down, taking Maureen's uninjured hand in her own.

"I'm so sorry," she whispered, pressing her lips to Maureen's fingers. "This is all my fault. Just… don't die on me. I promise I'll be the best girlfriend anyone could ask for. I won't question you ever again and I won't ever raise my voice at you again. I'll love you forever and… just don't leave me."

Tears began to stream down her face once again and she choked up, unable to say anything more, just sitting there, willing Maureen to wake up and yell "Boo!" Or to start laughing and tell her that it's an April Fool's joke even though it isn't April 1st.

But Maureen just laid there, looking pitifully vulnerable on the white sheets of the hospital bed. She had never looked so helpless. Maureen had always been so strong and independent, refusing to give in, always fighting for what she believed in, even if the odds were against her.

Joanne just hoped she would fight through this one, because the odds most definitely were against her.

_**Well, there you go. I probably won't be able to update until Friday at the earliest because I have a lot of stuff going on in the next few days. If I do get an update, I'll be really surprised. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, and special thanks to:**_

_**I-Stalk-Espinosa-xo**_

_**The Last Truffula Tree**_

_**xEastEndersFan4Lifex**_

_**TheSexyLatinaDancer Mimi**_

_**Phases of Obsession**_

_**Please, please, PLEASE review. I appreciate all comments, thoughts, and suggestions and take everything seriously. If you give me a suggestion, I WILL take it into consideration. Thank you all once again, and until the next chapter!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_


	3. Praying for Healing

_**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**_

"Hey, Joanne, wake up," someone said quietly, shaking her awake. She opened her eyes to see Angel looking down at her with a worried expression on his face. He was still dressed in his jeans and t-shirt. "Hey, it's almost eight o'clock in the morning and your phone started vibrating. Are you going to work today?"

"What?" she whispered. "Where am I?"

"You're in the hospital, honey," Angel said gently. "You fell asleep in Maureen's room last night and we didn't want to wake you up. Roger, Mark, and Mimi went back to the loft to get some sleep. Collins is with Maureen right now. The doctor is supposed to be coming in about an hour."

"Maureen… oh, Maureen," Joanne said, sitting bolt upright as the events of the night before hit her. "How is she? She didn't… is she still…?"

"She's alive, but barely," Angel said quietly, glancing over his shoulder. "She's going back into surgery in about three hours, sooner, if the doctor has an opening. They didn't do much last night because they didn't think they could save her. The doctor is going to tell us exactly how Maureen is injured and what has to be fixed during surgery."

"I need to call into work and tell them I won't be coming in," Joanne said, pulling her phone out of her pocket to see she had missed six calls, two from her parents and four from the law firm where she worked. She quickly dialed the law firm and informed her secretary that she wouldn't be coming in. "No, there's an emergency," she said, glancing over at Collins, who was blocking her view of Maureen. "No, I'm calling my parents as soon as I get off the phone, you don't have to call them for me."

She hung up after listening for a few moments and dialed her parents' number. "Hi, mom, it's Joanne. Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't call, but there was an emergency and I fell asleep at the hospital… no, I'm fine. It's Maureen, she's in critical condition and the doctors didn't know if she would make it. No, she's doing a little better and the doctor is going to be here in about an hour, which means about double that. Yeah, I'll call you when we find anything else out."

Sighing, she hung up her phone and turned to Angel. "I'm going home and changing into clean clothes," she said. "I'll be back in about twenty minutes. Call me if anything happens, you have my number, right?"

"Um, I don't have a cell phone," Angel said. "Here, write your number on my arm and I'll just use one of the hospital's phones if anything happens. Collins has to go soon to teach his class, he can't take a day off since he got hired not too long ago. I'll be here, though."

"Thanks," Joanne said, writing her number on Angel's arm. "You have no idea how much this means to me. I just can't believe this actually happened."

"It's going to be okay, honey," Angel said, patting her on the arm. "You just go freshen up and get something to eat, too. And you should probably bring a bag with clothes and something to do, just in case you decide to stay overnight again."

Joanne nodded. "Thank you," she whispered.

That was the first time she went over the speed limit since she graduated from college. Rushing home, she quickly showered, got dressed, popped some bread in the toaster for breakfast, and packed a bag with a few changes of clothes and some books to read just in case. She was back at the hospital in exactly twenty minutes.

"Did anything happen while I was gone?" she asked as she rushed into the hospital room, setting her bag on an empty chair.

Angel shook his head. "No, the doctor hasn't come yet and Maureen's still not responding to anything I say. Hopefully after the surgery, she'll wake up."

Joanne sat down in the chair that Collins had previously occupied and took Maureen's hand in her own. "Hey," she whispered. "It's me, Joanne. The doctor is going to be coming in soon and then you're going to go into surgery to try to fix everything. You'll get a kick out of this, today is the first day I've missed work since I started at the firm. You always said you would get me to miss work one day."

She was quiet for a moment. "I just wish the reason wasn't that you were in the hospital," she said quietly.

Maureen didn't respond and a tear leaked out of the corner of Joanne's eye. Angel put a comforting hand on her shoulder and they sat that way until the doctor came in, clearing his throat.

"Hi, I'm Doctor Andrews," he said as Joanne stood up to shake his hand. "And this is Maureen Johnson, am I correct?"

She nodded. "Is she going to be okay?" she asked.

He took a deep breath. "I'm going to do the best I can to ensure that," he said. "She has some very serious injuries and will be going into surgery as soon as an operating room is open, which is in about twenty minutes."

"What is the extent of her injuries?" Joanne asked.

"Well, both of her legs are shattered," he said. "We'll have to do reconstructive surgery to put the bones back together, using small screws to keep the pieces in place. Her left arm is broken, although it can easily be set and put in a cast. What really worries me is her ribs. Several of them are broken and one of them seems to have punctured her lung. We've taken care of it for now, but we're going to have to go in and fix it by stapling it shut. She'll have to be on a breathing machine afterwards, but once she wakes up and starts recovering, she should be fine."

"When _will_ she wake up?" Joanne asked.

"I don't know," the doctor said slowly. "That's the other main problem that's really worrying me. We don't know when, or if, she's going to wake up. She's lasted the night, so that greatly increases her chance of survival from about ten percent to maybe seventy-five percent. But we don't want her to stay unconscious for too long because it could cause brain damage once she wakes up."

"Is there any brain damage right now?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, there isn't any damage to her brain at all as far as we can see," he said. "This is a miracle because she has quite a bump. But, once again, the longer she stays unconscious, the more chance there is of her getting brain damage. Unfortunately, there isn't anything we can do to wake her up."

Joanne nodded. "Okay," she said quietly. "Will I be able to watch the surgery?"

"No," he said. "You can wait outside the operating room, though. If anything goes wrong or we find anything during the surgery, someone will come out and tell you. Now, are you a relative?"

"She's my girlfriend," Joanne said. "Or fiancée would work, too, I guess. We got into an argument at our engagement party and I haven't really talked to her since. And then this happened, and I'm regretting the fact that I refused to listen to her. I'm just hoping that she'll live."

The doctor nodded understandingly. "I've seen many situations like this," he said. "I'll do the best I can."

About ten minutes later, two nurses came in and carefully transferred Maureen onto a gurney, taking her to the operating room. Joanne followed with Angel, who had a comforting arm around her shoulders. They sat outside of the operating room, praying that everything would go as planned by the doctor.

_**Hope you liked it! The next update will be on Monday or Tuesday, considering tomorrow is Mother's Day! (Reminder: Say Happy Mother's Day to your moms and tell them how much you appreciate them! I know I couldn't live without mine.) Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and please continue to REVIEW. Thanks again!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

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	4. Heart Stops Beating

_**Here's the next chapter. Sorry that I didn't get it posted last night. Enjoy!**_

Both Joanne and Angel leapt to their feet as the doctor exited the operating room and walked purposefully towards them. He pulled his clipboard out from under his arm and flipped through the pages before looking up at them.

"Well, the surgery was successful as far as I can tell," he said. "Both of her legs are on the mend and we've patched up her lung. She'll be on the breathing machine for a little while, though. And her arm is going to be fine, too. Unfortunately, I still don't know when, or if, she's going to wake up."

"If?" Joanne asked fearfully.

"Well, there comes a certain point in time when we… start to cross over our moral boundary line," he said carefully. "Once a certain amount of time passes, we choose to… let the person in question… pass on."

"Wait, you kill them?" Joanne asked. "You want to kill Maureen?"

He shook his head. "No, no, we don't want to kill her," he said. "We're not killing her. It's just… sometimes, some people don't want to go on living. They've lost the will and they just give up. No matter how hard we try to bring them back, it doesn't work. And… we let them go."

Joanne shook her head and took a step back. "Maureen's going to wake up," she whispered. "She's a fighter, she doesn't want to die. She won't leave me here alone."

"Have you ever considered that the fight you mentioned to me might have… sent her off the deep end?" he asked cautiously. "I mean, it's not everyday that someone gets hit by a semi in the back streets of New York City. Maybe… maybe she wanted to end it all."

"Will you shut up and stop trying to be philosophical?" Angel snapped, putting his arms around Joanne as tears started to stream down her face. "You have a degree as a doctor, not as a counselor. We don't need anything else to disrupt our family."

The doctor looked alarmed. "I was just trying to help," he said.

"Well, you weren't helping," Angel said.

"I'll, um, well, Miss Johnson is being taken back to her room right now," he said awkwardly. "If you have any questions, just ask one of the nurses."

He walked away quickly as Angel comforted Joanne. "You know that Maureen isn't going to die," Angel said softly. "She's strong, and she's going to pull through. I guarantee it."

Joanne nodded. "Yeah," she whispered. "Yeah, I know, it's just… sometimes, I get all worked up, and the last thing I said to her was 'Go away, I never want to see you again.' What if I really… what if she thought… what if I caused all of this to happen and it's my fault?"

"But it isn't your fault," Angel said soothingly. "You know Maureen would never do that to herself. She never gave up, and she was probably already planning how she was going to get you back. Both you and I know it."

"I… I think I want to go see her, now," she whispered. "Do… do you mind if I go alone? Maybe she'll wake up if it's just me with her."

Angel nodded sympathetically and she walked slowly down the hall, making her way back to Maureen's hospital room. She hesitated right outside the door, not knowing if the woman she loved would look any different. After some deliberation, she finally went in to see Maureen considerably paler than she had been before. The nurse tending to her looked up when Joanne walked in.

"Don't worry about her color," she said gently. "She's lost a lot of blood, but she'll be fine. The doctors gave her a transfusion, so she's not in any danger of blood loss right now."

"Thank you," Joanne said quietly as the nurse left.

She sat down by Maureen's side and gently took her hand in her own, swallowing thickly. "Hey, it's me again," she whispered, gently wiping a stray strand of hair out of Maureen's face. "Look, I'm really sorry about what I said, I didn't mean a single word of it. I love you, and I can't live without you. Just… just come back to me, and I promise I'll do anything you ask me to."

"Oh, just shut up," someone said behind her, and she turned to see Mark standing there, his arms crossed over his chest. "We all know you don't care, that's why you ditched her at your engagement party. That's why you haven't talked to her since."

"No, you don't understand…" Joanne started.

"I think I do," Mark said, laughing humorlessly. "You just used her. I don't know why you would use her, considering you have money, you have a good job, and you could get anyone you wanted. You used her and then threw her away, and now you feel guilty because she got hurt."

"No, Mark, it isn't like that," Joanne said desperately.

"Do you know what she did right after you two broke up?" he asked. "She sat in her room at the loft and did nothing. It was like she didn't even want to live anymore. The only thing, the only _person_, she would talk about what you, and how guilty she felt because she had messed up _again_."

Joanne stared at him in shock. No one had ever told her anything like this before; no one had ever told her that Maureen could break down. Whenever she had seen her, no matter if she was fighting with her or not, she had an impenetrable barrier that kept her safe from other people's insults and rude remarks.

"You set your standards too high," he said. "She saw you and immediately fell for you, but you decided that she wasn't good enough. You tried to make her into something that she wasn't, something that she would strive for, a person she would never be. And when she fell, you weren't there to catch her. Instead, you pushed her down even farther, and look where it's gotten her."

He shook his head. "All I ever wanted was for her to be loved," he said softly. "I gave her everything she asked for. Every time she messed up, I took her back with open arms, and then she caught sight of you and left me. I thought maybe she had found true happiness, but every time you broke up, she would come to the loft drunk beyond belief, tears streaming down her face, begging for her Joanne. Begging for _you_. But you weren't there, and I was the only person who even came close to replacing you. She turned to me, and then left me whenever you two got back together."

"This isn't about Maureen, is it?" Joanne whispered. "This is about you."

"No!" he yelled. "This is about _her_. She was the one who was supposed to break people's hearts, not the other way around! You broke her heart, Joanne! And she kept going back, and it got put back together. But every time her heart was broken, another piece got lost. She's changed since she's started going out with you. She isn't the same Maureen I knew. It would be better for her, for everyone, if you just left so she could heal all the way. Don't come back here, don't ever come back."

Joanne stood, tears streaming down her face. "You can explain to her, then," she whispered "You can explain why I'll never see her again, why I'll never call, why I'll never write. When everyone asks where I've been, _you_ can tell them that I've left for good and they don't have to worry about me anymore. After all, I just end up ruining people's lives, don't I?"

Mark nodded. "You're making the right choice," he said. "Don't worry about everyone else, I'll tell them. I don't care if they hate me at first, because this is all for the better. Maureen will go back to the way she was and everything will be just like it was before you came."

"Fine," Joanne whispered, grabbing her bag from the chair and looking at Maureen one last time. "I see how it is. This is the last time you'll ever see me, I promise. I won't bother you anymore, I'm out of your life for good."

She turned on her heel, leaving Mark alone in the hospital room with Maureen. As Joanne's footsteps receded, he sat down by the bed and gently stroked Maureen's hand. Maureen moaned and her eyes fluttered open. "Joanne," she whispered. "Where's Joanne?"

"Don't worry," Mark said quietly. "Joanne is out of your life for good. She won't be coming back, I made sure of it."

"No, I need Joanne," Maureen whimpered, and her heart rate monitor started beeping faster. "Joanne… need Joanne. She can't leave me, not again. I apologized."

"Maureen, Maureen, listen to me, it's going to be okay," Mark said, trying to calm her down. "It's going to be fine. You don't need Joanne, she's just ruined your life, _our_ life. Forget about her, you don't need her."

"Joanne," Maureen whispered.

Her eyes fluttered shut and some nurses rushed into the room, looking at Maureen in alarm. "We're losing her," one of them yelled as the heart rate monitor started to beep sporadically. "Go get Doctor Andrews, quickly!"

Angel rushed into the room, looking at Mark in confusion.

"Where's Joanne?" he asked.

"She left," he said triumphantly. "She's not coming back, I made sure of it."

"No!" Angel yelled. "Mark, don't you see? The only reason Maureen is still alive is because she thinks Joanne might come back and forgive her! What did you tell Maureen?"

"I told her that Joanne wasn't coming back," Mark whispered uncertainly.

"Where'd Joanne go?" Angel asked urgently. "How long ago did she leave?"

"Maybe five minutes," Mark said.

"I want you to tell Maureen that Joanne is coming right now," Angel said. "I'm going to get her right now. And once she's here, you had better leave, because you've only caused more trouble."

He raced off down the hall after Joanne and Mark turned to see Maureen's heart rate monitor flat line.

_**Sorry, but I had to leave it there. Hope you liked it. I promise that it will get better and won't be **_**AS**_** depressing. Please REVIEW. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, I really appreciate your support.**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

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	5. Lost All Hope

_**This has to have been the hardest chapter I've EVER written before. I rewrote it about three times before I came up with something that I liked. Hope YOU like it. Enjoy!**_

Joanne quickly walked down the hall and away from Maureen. That part of her life was over and done with. She would no longer pine after someone who so obviously didn't want her anymore. Work would come first, and if someone waltzed into her life that she liked, she would pursue a relationship with them. But Maureen… no, there would be no more Maureen.

"_You broke her heart, Joanne!"_

Mark's words echoed around in her head, haunting her. They had really struck a chord in her. She had never thought that Maureen would be the one who had her heart broken, but she realized that every time she sensed Maureen get angry at her, she had broken up with her before it could be the other way around.

Tears streamed down her face and she angrily wiped them away. She couldn't show emotion, not here. There wasn't time for this. After she got back to her apartment, she would change into her suit and head into the office to try and get some work done. That was all that mattered now, her work.

Arriving in the main entrance of the hospital, she was about to leave when she heard someone calling her name behind her.

"Wait, Joanne, wait, I need to talk to you!"

She turned to see Angel sprinting towards her, breathing hard. He stopped in front of her and bent over to catch his breath. "Joanne, you can't leave," he finally said. "It's Maureen, she's… she's dying, Joanne, and she needs you. Don't pay any attention to what Mark said, he's an idiot and has no idea what he's talking about. Maureen needs you, Joanne, and you need her."

"I'm fine without her, and she most certainly doesn't need me," Joanne said, turning away again.

"What are you going to do?" Angel asked, making her stop in her tracks. "What've you been doing since your engagement party? Looking for someone else to have a relationship with? Or do you already have that relationship? With your law firm."

"That's none of your business," Joanne said coldly.

"It is when you're about to make one of the worst decisions in your life," Angel said. "Maureen is in there dying. The doctors are in there trying to keep her alive. Joanne, this isn't like before where there's a chance she could wake up and there's a chance that she couldn't. This is like she's on her way out right now."

"And how do you know that she wants me there?" Joanne yelled, turning on him. "How do you know that I'm the one for her? What about Mark?"

"Mark's jealous," he said, stepping forward. "He's scared because he doesn't want to lose Maureen and he wants to be the hero who helps her get back up after she's fallen. He wants to be the knight in the fairy tale, and deep down inside, he knows that he isn't. He knows that _you're_ the knight, Joanne, and no matter what he does, he can't change that."

"And what happens if the knight doesn't rescue the damsel-in-distress?" Joanne asked sarcastically. "Is she imprisoned in a tall tower forever by a big, bad dragon or an evil witch?"

"The dragon eats her and the witch kills her with a spell," Angel says. "And if the knight doesn't show up soon, that's what's going to happen to Maureen. Really, Joanne, she woke up, and she was asking for _you_. Not Mark, not me, not Collins, not any of those women you think she's been cheating on you with, but _you_."

"She doesn't want me," Joanne said, shaking her head. "I let her down. I'm the reason she's in the hospital. If I go back there, I'm only going to make it worse."

"When are you going to realize that she loves _you_?" Angel asked, exasperated. "What do I have to do to prove that to you? Joanne, she loves you, you're the best thing that's ever happened to her! Collins has told me what she was like before. You've brought out the best in her, Joanne!"

"But I've been horrible to her," Joanne whispered.

"No, you've done what's necessary," he said, pressing on. "If you hadn't done what you've done, then your relationship with Maureen would have been over with a long time ago. Both of you would have been moved on by now. Joanne, I know that you love her and you want to be up in that hospital room with her. She wants you there, no _needs_ you there. Please, Joanne, please."

"What if I can't do anything to save her?" Joanne whispered. "What if me being there just pushes her off the edge and she dies?"

"But what if you _not_ being there makes it worse?" Angel persisted. "Please, Joanne, she _needs_ you."

Joanne hesitated and then nodded. "Fine," she whispered. "But… but I'm not going to stay if she doesn't want me there."

Angel grabbed her by the arm, pulling back towards the hospital room. "We've wasted too much time," he said anxiously. "She might not… we need to hurry, come on Joanne, hurry up."

They ran through the halls, making doctors, nurses, and visitors jump out of their way. Several times, they almost ran into a patient strapped to a gurney. Angel muttered apologies as they passed until they came to the hospital room. Mark stood outside, a look of horror on his face.

"Is she gone?" Angel asked. "Mark, answer me. Is Maureen gone?"

He shook his head wordlessly and Joanne barged into the hospital room, Mark's silence spurring her on. What she saw stopped her in her tracks. A single doctor stood by Maureen's bedside, checking for her pulse and shaking his head slowly. "Time of death is 12:52," he said sadly. "I'm sorry."

Joanne stared at Maureen's still form and tears leaked down her face. She couldn't believe that the once vivacious and energetic drama queen was… dead. There wasn't any possible way that she could be gone.

"No!" she yelled, tears now running freely down her face. "No, she's still alive! She has to be!"

The doctor stared at her in shock as she surged forward, pushing aside chairs and equipment. She checked for Maureen's pulse and started to sob when she couldn't find one. Taking her hand, she collapsed to her knees, reduced to sobs.

"Joanne, you need to let go," Angel said gently. "Please, Joanne, just until you calm down, okay? Then you can go back, I promise."

"She's dead," she sobbed, leaning into Angel. "She's gone, she left me all alone, just like I left her."

Angel held her in his arms as she sobbed on his shoulder, and then he gasped, his eyes widening. Joanne calmed down for a moment to see that he was staring at something behind her and she turned to see Maureen stirring, her chest moving up and down as she started to breath again. Her eyes fluttered open and she moaned.

"Joanne?" she whispered. "Where's Joanne? I need her."

Maureen turned her head and her eyes locked with Joanne's, who stumbled forward and fell to her knees by the bed, taking Maureen's good hand in her own.

"Oh my God," she whispered.

"What's going on?" Maureen moaned. "Where am I? Why're you crying?"

"W-we thought that we'd lost you," Joanne whispered. "Oh my God, you were… you were _dead_ a moment ago, and now you're alive, and breathing, and talking. Maureen, I'm so sorry, this is all my fault, I'm sorry."

"Where am I?" Maureen asked a little more strongly, trying to sit up but giving up as she winced in pain. "Why does my whole body hurt?"

"It doesn't matter," Joanne whispered. "All that matters is you're alive and you're going to be fine."

_**Well, tell me what you think and REVIEW. Anything and everything is welcome, I really appreciate thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Thank you to all of my loyal readers and reviewers!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

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	6. Unforseeable Future

_**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**_

Maureen breathed slowly in and out as she slept and Joanne watched closely as the doctor examined her. "She's seems fine, or as fine as she can be in her situation," he said quietly when he finished. "I mean, for someone who just died and was revived, she's doing great, and healing up rather nicely, as well. She's going to have to stay in the hospital for a while, though; at least until we're sure that she's stable. We don't want her to fall back into a coma when you've just gotten her home."

Joanne nodded and sighed in relief. "Are there any signs that she'll fall back into a coma?" she asked worriedly, glancing at the peaceful Maureen.

He shook his head. "No, sometimes they just slip into a coma without any forewarning," he said. "Although I don't think Miss Johnson here will. She seems determined to get better and get out of here, and I don't blame her."

"Is she going to heal fully?"

This was the question that had really been bothering Joanne. She knew Maureen would be really upset if she found out that she wouldn't heal all the way, preventing her from continuing her acting career and her protests. Joanne held her breath as she looked expectantly at the doctor.

"I'm not sure, yet," he said, and Joanne's heart dropped. "Her legs were shattered by the collision, and I don't know if they're going to heal so she'll be able to have full control over them again. She'll be able to walk, but she might not be able to run, jump, and use them as she might have before. What's her profession again?"

"She's an actress," Joanne said glumly.

His face fell. "Oh," he said quietly. "There isn't any chance that she might have a degree in something else, such as teaching, is there?"

"No," Joanne said quietly. Maureen had originally gone to school for teaching, but as soon as her parents had stopped nagging her about her classes, she had ditched the required curriculum and run off to the Performing Arts Department. Her parents hadn't known until she had graduated, and by that time, it was too late to stop her accelerating career.

As soon as she graduated, she landed a lead role in a minor off-Broadway production, and ever since then, she had gradually started starring in bigger productions, although she had never made it to Broadway. Just before their engagement party, Maureen had told Joanne her intentions to try out for a Broadway musical. She didn't know if Maureen had tried out for the part after they had broken up, but she desperately hoped not so that if she landed the role, she wouldn't have to turn it down because of her injuries.

"Excuse me, Miss Jefferson?"

Joanne snapped out of her daze to look up at the doctor. "I'm sorry," she said. "I kind of zoned out there, I've had a long couple of days."

He nodded understandingly. "That's what I was just talking about. Since this is a single-person room and it's so large, we can have a cot brought up for you so you can sleep here. We only permit this in extreme situations such as this."

"Thank you," she said.

She watched Maureen sleeping and turned when she heard footsteps in the hall. Angel had left a couple hours before, promising to come back later with Collins. The footsteps stopped right outside of the doorway and then Roger walked in, a nervous expression on his face.

"Hey," he whispered. "How's she doing? Angel told me that she woke up earlier. Is she asleep? Do you want me to come back later?"

"No, you can stay," Joanne said wearily. "She's doing fine for everything she's been through in the past few days, she's just a little worn out. Once she starts recovering, she should be able to heal quickly and come back home."

"Where's she going to go?" Roger asked, pulling up a chair and sitting next to Joanne. "I mean, she could have her old room at the loft, but I don't know if we would be able to take care of her the way she needs to, and you can't be taking off work to come over all the time. She could always stay at Angel's place, but he isn't home for very long because he's out on the streets playing for money."

"I'm going to ask her, but I want her to come back to my apartment with me," Joanne said, surprising him. "I know we haven't really been on the right footing with each other, but I can't abandon her like this, especially when she doesn't have anywhere else to go."

Roger's face suddenly brightened. "What about her parents?" he asked. "I'm sure that they're coming down to visit her, and once they find out that she doesn't have anywhere to go, I'm sure that they'll bring her back with them."

Joanne shook her head. "They won't come," she whispered. "I haven't told Maureen yet, but they're still upset with her for arguing with them about our breakup. She insisted that she would get me back and wouldn't go on a date with a guy they had found for her. They said its her own fault if she got herself into trouble and this time she'd have to deal with it herself."

"They won't come?" he asked incredulously. "But… but… but why?"

"Remember what happened to Collins?" Joanne asked, and Roger's face fell as he remembered.

Collins used to have a close relationship with his parents until they had found out he was gay. It had been his senior year in college when they had found out he was dating another guy, and they had completely cut him off. He hadn't had any contact with them since them and was currently trying to pay off the student loans his parents had promised they would pay until they abandoned him.

"But her parents wouldn't do that to her!" he exclaimed. "I mean, they were at your engagement party and everything!"

"They weren't happy about it," Joanne said, shaking her head. "The whole time, they were looking at me disapprovingly, and my mother said that her mother was trying to convince her that me and Maureen weren't ready to get married yet. And I know what Maureen's mother said to Mark about him and Maureen getting back together."

"But you can't take off work to take care of Maureen," Roger said. "I mean, you're taking tons of time off now as it is! And it's just going to be more work when she gets out of the hospital."

"You're going to wake her up and get her upset," Joanne said, glancing worriedly over at Maureen. "What I'm going to do is ask you guys if you could come over at specific times during the day to help take care of her. Angel and Collins would definitely come over, and I know Mimi is free until eight when her shift starts, and you don't do anything all day, anyways."

"Hey!" Roger exclaimed. "I do things… like, the loft is a lot cleaner than it used to be. That was all me! And what about Mark?"

Joanne sighed. "I don't know if Maureen is going to want Mark helping her," she said. "It isn't my personal choice, it's hers, although I feel a lot more comfortable knowing that he isn't watching her. He only has one motive, and that's trying to get her back as his girlfriend. He's going to have to do a lot more to get me to trust him."

Roger shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, I heard about what he did," he muttered. "I know that it's wrong of him to do that to you guys, but you have to admit that if you had just forgiven Maureen, none of this would have happened. I'm not trying to blame you or get you to leave or anything! I'm just saying… be careful with her. Me and Maureen might not be the closest of the bunch, but we used to live with each other, and I really hated seeing her hurt."

"I know," Joanne said. "I made a mistake, and that's my fault, but I love her, and she still loves me. And I would never dream of hurting her purposefully again."

"That's the thing," Roger said quietly. "When you guys broke up and when you ignored Maureen, you weren't intending to hurt her, or at least I don't think you were. What I'm afraid of is you unintentionally hurting her. I know that she causes a lot of pain, and I know because of all of the guys who've showed up at the loft to confront her about her breaking up with them, but she doesn't deserve this."

"Please, Roger, it's enough seeing her like this, I don't need you to reprimand me," Joanne said, and he nodded.

"Is she going to be able to walk again?" he asked quietly.

Joanne began to tear up and he stared at her in surprise. "She's going to be able to walk," she whispered. "But… but the doctor said that she might never… her whole acting career might be over."

He mouth opened and closed soundlessly before he could get any words out. "But… isn't there anything they can do for her?" he asked quietly. "I mean, there's therapy, and limb replacement and all that stuff, there _has_ to be something! You know what, I'm going to get a job and whatever it takes, I'm going to help pay for her to get better, she doesn't deserve this. Oh my God, I can't believe that this is happening."

"Roger, she's not dying," Joanne said, putting a restraining hand on his arm as he started to stand up. "The doctor doesn't even know what the likelihood that she won't be able to act anymore is. Just… don't do anything rash, I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of this."

"Okay," he whispered after a few moments. "I'll be back later with Mimi. She took off work today so she could visit. We'll swing by someplace and pick up some food for you and Maureen, something healthier than the garbage they serve at this place. Do you want anything in particular?"

She shook her head. "No, just don't get Chinese takeout because Maureen hates it, and she hates the food here, too."

He nodded. "I'll see you later then," he said, walking out the door.

Joanne turned to Maureen's bed and gently shook Maureen awake. "Hey, how're you feeling?" she whispered as her eyes fluttered open.

"It hurts," Maureen whimpered.

"What hurts?" Joanne asked frantically, her eyes scanning the bandages on Maureen's legs for any bleeding.

"My head," Maureen whispered. "I have the biggest headache ever, all because Roger decided to play his guitar while I was sleeping. I specifically told him not to, but he did it anyways."

"Um, honey, I think you were dreaming," Joanne said.

"Although Roger's playing _is_ really loud," a voice said from the door, making Joanne turn around to see Collins standing behind her. "Hey, Maureen, I would ask how you were feeling, but I've already heard that you have a headache. Don't they have any meds at this place to help you with that."

"She's on enough medicine as it is," Joanne said defensively.

"It's okay, he's just joking around," Angel said, walking in the door. He had once again dressed in jeans and a t-shirt and had a small smile on his face as he pulled his book bag off his bag. "Hey Maureen, if you're up to it, I brought some notebooks and pencils. I didn't know when you wanted to start writing or anything, but I thought I'd just be prepared."

"You guys just missed Roger," Joanne said, turning back to Maureen. "He's coming back later with Mimi."

"We ran into Benny and he said he'd swing by as soon as possible," Collins said. "He says that he feels really bad and that he'll do anything to help. I personally don't trust him, but he says if you need help in the financial area, he's got it covered."

"I don't want help from Benny," Maureen spat.

"Same old Maureen," Joanne said, gently kissing her on the forehead. "But we'll have to let him say what he wants to say. And if he wants to help pay the hospital bills, he's more than welcome to. I just hope he knows he won't be welcome in the apartment once you get out of here."

"Will… will I be going back to the loft?" Maureen asked softly.

Joanne hesitated. "Not if you don't want to," she said. "I mean, I know I've been horrible with ignoring your apologies and that's how this whole thing happened, but my apartment will always be open to you."

"So, you don't care if you have to take care of me?" Maureen asked. "I mean, you know how much I complain. If you don't want me, just say so…"

"No, I want you back," Joanne said earnestly. "Maureen, I love you with everything I have. I would give up everything for you, do anything for you, _be_ anything for you. There isn't anything in this world that could keep me away from you."

Collins and Angel began to back out of the room as Maureen looked at Joanne with teary eyes. "I love you, pookie," she whispered, and then she put a hand over her mouth as she realized what she had said. "I'm sorry, I know you don't like me calling you that…"

"No, it's fine," Joanne said. "I don't care what you call me, as long as you're here with me."

_**Well, I hope you liked it. As you may or may not know, if you've read the latest chapter of **_**An Obstacle Called Fate**_**, I will be going out of town Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, so I won't be able to update on those days. I'll try to get a few chapters up in the next few days, but I can't promise anything. So… if I don't update up to Friday, I probably won't be updating until next Tuesday. Well… REVIEW PLEASE. I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, I really appreciate everything.**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_


	7. Life Changing Choices

_**Here's the next chapter. Sorry that it took so long to update, but it took me awhile to catch up on my sleep from my trip out of town. Enjoy!**_

A week passed and Maureen gradually began to get better. The doctors were impressed with her recovery, considering that she had barely been alive just the week before. Joanne still worried about her, though. She knew that the cleanliness of the hospital and the strict rules were really wearing on Maureen's nerves and that if she didn't get out of there as soon as possible, she would go insane.

The nurses and doctors got used to the odd group of people going in and out of Maureen's room at unusual times. Sometimes Mimi would come to Maureen's room at two o'clock in the morning after her shift at the Catscratch Club was finished. At first, the receptionist had tried keeping her out of the room, but after Mimi had called Joanne's cell phone from a pay phone asking her to come down and let her in, the receptionist had stopped trying to keep her out.

Benny came a few times, bringing get well cards that Maureen threw out right after he left, only because Joanne would let her throw them out in front of him. He often pulled Joanne out of the room to talk about hospital bills and money, which made Maureen uncomfortable. She had eventually insisted that if he was going to talk to Joanne, he would have to talk to her in front of Maureen. Joanne had laughed at the look on Maureen's face, but Benny took her seriously.

Mark didn't come in after his first visit with Maureen fully awake and aware of what he had done. She screamed at him until a doctor came in and gave her some drugs to calm her down so she wouldn't break her stitches. Joanne had given one look to Mark and he had fled from the room. Roger had said that Mark didn't talk about Maureen at the loft and had completely ignored the topic when it had been brought up.

Angel and Collins were at the hospital the most, other than Joanne, who was there all the time. Collins insisted on visiting Maureen at least twice a day, and Angel more often than not accompanied him, dressed out of drag and in a pair of baggy jeans and a t-shirt to make the situation a little more comfortable. Maureen was most at ease when Collins and Joanne were there together to keep her mind off the wounds that she was recuperating from. Angel always brought something for Maureen to do, like a book for her to read, music for her to listen to, or nail polish so he could paint her nails.

Joanne was there with Maureen at all times. Whenever she slept, she dozed, just in case Maureen would wake up and need her. She was often to her side before the nurses even knew what was going on.

After a total of three weeks in the hospital, considerable begging from Maureen, and exasperated glances from Joanne, the doctor finally relented and told them that Maureen would be able to go home on the condition that if anything happened, Joanne would immediately call the hospital. Joanne had readily agreed and, after three and a half hours of paperwork, a few phone calls, and many complaints from Maureen later, they were out of the hospital with Maureen in a wheelchair and a sling.

"I don't get why I have to be in a wheelchair," Maureen complained as Joanne lifted her into the passenger's seat of her car. "I mean, that woman in the room next to me got crutches, and her whole face was messed up."

"Maureen, you're face doesn't have to walk," Joanne said, stowing the wheelchair in the backseat. "You completely shattered both of your legs and have stitches. If the doctors thought that you would be able to walk, they would have just given you a walking boot and a pair of crutches. Just be grateful that this isn't worse and you didn't die."

"Sometimes I wish I had just died," Maureen muttered.

Joanne was quiet. "I don't wish that you had died," she whispered.

"Oh, Pookie, I didn't mean it like that," Maureen said, realizing exactly what she had said. "That's just me speaking without thinking again. I love you, and I would much rather be like this and with you rather than being scraped up from the road and into a jar to be cremated."

"Look, Maureen, you have to watch what you say," Joanne said, turning to Maureen as she got into the driver's seat and shut the door. "I don't think you realize how close to dying you really were. You were dead, Maureen, and I was there, and I saw you when you had stopped breathing. Sometimes when you say things, people who hear it take it differently."

"I said I'm sorry," Maureen snapped.

"Other people aren't going to be so understanding," Joanne said angrily. "They're going to react before they think about what you've been going through, and I'll tell you just who those people are going to be: Collins, Angel, Roger, and Mimi. Have you considered how nerve-wracking and stressful this has been for _them_? They love you, Maureen, and they don't want to see you hurt."

"You know what, I'm not as smart and observant as you are!" Maureen yelled. "I'm not smart like you! My job doesn't earn me two hundred thousand dollars a year! I never went to Harvard University!"

They were both quiet. "What are we doing?" Joanne asked quietly after a few minutes. "You just got out of the hospital and we're fighting already. Maybe… maybe we shouldn't be trying this out again. Perhaps we're just wasting our time."

"No," Maureen said quickly, taking one of Joanne's hands in her good hand. "You know what I think. I think we're both stressed out, tired, and worried and we just need to go home and rest. You need a few days where you aren't looking after me. When we get back to the apartment, I'll call Angel and she'll come over and take care of me while you go out and have some philosophical fun with Collins."

"Okay," Joanne said wearily, putting the key in the ignition and turning on the car. "But we still have to talk about our relationship at some time in the near future. There have to be some major changes if we want this to work, on both your and my side."

"I love you, Joanne," Maureen whispered, not letting go of her hand. Joanne opened her mouth to speak, but Maureen shook her head. "No, just listen to me. When you left, I was honestly devastated. I… I didn't try out for that Broadway show like I told you I was going to. Both Mark and Roger can tell you that I pretty much sat around doing nothing all day."

"Maureen, you don't have to…" Joanne started, but Maureen cut her off with a glare and continued.

"Usually, after a breakup, I try my best to move on with my life and fine someone else or just bury myself in my job, kind of like you do," Maureen said, smiling slightly as Joanne blushed. "I drown myself in auditions and practicing, but this time, I didn't know what to do. It was like after you were gone, I didn't know how to function anymore."

She took a deep breath. "Joanne, I can't live without you. As much as I wanted to get over you after we broke up, I couldn't. I couldn't get you out of my mind. You were in my dreams, I was hearing your voice and seeing your face everywhere, and everyone was always talking about you whenever they were at the loft."

"You mean… you didn't date after we broke up?" Joanne asked. "I thought… no one ever told me…"

"Did you really talk to anyone about me after we broke up?" Maureen asked.

"No," Joanne whispered. "I was… I was too caught up in my work. You know how I am, I bury myself so I'll forget."

"You really wanted to forget about me?" Maureen asked, tears in her eyes.

"I wanted to forget about the pain you caused," Joanne whispered. "Sometimes it was all just too much and I wanted to run back to the loft and ask you to come back to the apartment, but every time I would leave, I would remember what happened. I was afraid that it would happen again."

"Whatever anyone says, I didn't cheat on you," Maureen said. "I admit that I flirted with people, but I have been with no other woman but you, and the last man I was with was Mark, if he counts as a man. Really, I didn't mean to hurt you."

Joanne shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore, you're here with me now. We should probably be getting back to the apartment now so you can take your medication and we can both sleep for a little bit. I have to go into work later to meet with my boss."

"I didn't get you in trouble, did I?" Maureen asked anxiously as Joanne pulled out of the parking lot and onto the crowded street.

"No, my boss is my dad and he understands the situation perfectly," Joanne said. "We're going to be discussing how long I'm going to have off work and if I'll take it as vacation time or family sick time."

"What's the difference?" Maureen asked.

"Family sick time pays more," Joanne said, turning onto her street and into the parking lot for her apartment building. She helped Maureen out of the car and into the wheelchair, pushing her towards the building and into the lobby. Maureen pressed the button for Joanne's floor and they got out, heading down the hall and stopping in front of the apartment door.

Opening the door, Joanne pushed Maureen in and stopped in the middle of the living room in the dark. Maureen was about to turn around and ask Joanne why she wasn't turning the lights on when they turned on and all of their friends popped out of nowhere.

"Welcome home!" Collins and Angel yelled, surging forward to hold a present in front of Maureen.

"Yeah, welcome home," Roger said, staying in the background with his hands in his pockets. "I would get you a present, but I don't have much money since I just started working and stuff."

Mimi ran forward, gently hugging Maureen. "I'm so glad that you're out of that hospital!" she said. "It smelled horrible there… like cleaning stuff."

"I know what you mean," Maureen said with a straight face. "It's even worse than when Joanne is on a cleaning spree."

Everyone laughed except for Joanne, who just blushed and ducked her head in embarrassment. There was a knock on the door and everyone looked up in confusion, with the exception of Joanne who just went to the door and opened to reveal a nervous Mark.

"What's _he_ doing here?" Roger asked.

"I invited him here," Joanne said, surprising everyone. "He said that he wanted to talk to all of us, and that if we didn't want him here afterwards, he would leave willingly. Just hear him out and we'll see what everyone thinks afterwards, okay?"

She was directing this at Maureen, who slowly began to nod. "Okay, but if I don't like what you have to say, you're leaving," she said to Mark.

He nodded. "Well, mainly I came to apologize," he said. "I should apologize to everyone, but I'm going to apologize to Maureen and Joanne first, because I think I treated them the worst out of everyone."

Turning to them, he started. "I don't know who to start with, so I'm just going to apologize to both of you at the same time. It was wrong of me to kick Joanne out of the room and tell her to never come back, and Joanne, I'm sorry for that. I had no authority over you, and I still don't. There was no reason for me to boss you around, and I think that you and Maureen are made for each other. And Maureen, I'm sorry for bossing Joanne around without your permission."

Maureen laughed and he blushed. "What?" he asked as Joanne stared accusingly at him. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry. And Collins, Roger, Angel, and Mimi, I'm sorry for being rude to you for the past few weeks. I really shouldn't have taken everything out on you guys and I deserve every single thing you've said to me about being a jerk."

"And an idiot," Roger put in.

"And an a-," Maureen started, but Joanne cut her off by slapping a hand over her mouth.

"I think that's enough of insulting Mark," she said. "Mark, I personally accept your apology, and I really appreciate you gathering up the guts and calling me to ask if it was okay to come and apologize, and then actually coming over and apologizing."

"Yeah, Mark, this really means a lot," Maureen said. "I just want to make one thing clear, though. I'm with Joanne, and hopefully, that's how it's going to stay. There's going to be a lot of bumps in the road in the future, we all know that, but I'm going to stick it out with her."

"Aww," Mimi said as Joanne leaned down and kissed Maureen gently. "That was really sweet. And I agree with Joanne. You've been being really stupid, but I appreciate the effort you've put in to make everything right."

Collins and Angel both nodded and Mark looked at Roger, his best friend, who seemed to be contemplating what he had said. "You have been a really big jerk," Roger said thoughtfully. "And you've been taking it out more on me than anyone else because we've known each other the longest. I don't know, Mark, this is an awful lot to forgive."

Mark bowed his head. "I guess I should be going, then," he murmured.

"Roger, stop messing around with him!" Mimi yelled, and Mark looked up to see a grin stretch across Roger's face.

"You really thought I was serious?" he asked. "That's awesome! Maybe I should go into acting like Maureen!"

"No!" Maureen yelled, surprising everyone. "I'm the only one who's going to act. No one is allowed to even _joke_ about acting until I'm better and going out for auditions again!"

Everyone nodded and Joanne whispered something in her ear, making Maureen calm down. "Okay, fine," Maureen said. "Just promise that Benny won't be coming by to apologize, because he would have to buy me _a lot_ of wine and beer to get me to accept his apology."

"No, that's not the favor I want," Joanne said.

She got down on one knee and pulled a small, black box out of her pocket, opening it up in front of Maureen to reveal a simple silver ring.

"Maureen Johnson, over these past few months, and more recently, these past few weeks, I've realized that if I was given a choice between having you and anyone else, I would choose you. I've realized that if you died, I would rather die than keep on living without you. And I've realized that no matter how many fights we've had, no matter how many times you've come home drunk, and no matter how many times you've forgotten to rinse your dishes before putting them in the dishwasher, I still want to be with you for the rest of my life. And I'm asking you if you want to be with me. Will you marry me?"

_**Hope you all liked it. I'll try to update tomorrow, but I can't promise anything. I'll update next week at the latest. Please review, I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions. Thank you to all of my readers and reviewers, and special thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 6:**_

_**GorgeousSmile**_

_**.**_

_**lil eimeim**_

_**CalzonaMojoFan**_

_**Phases of Obsession**_

_**I will try to acknowledge all of my reviewers from now on. I realize how much effort it takes to really review a story and I really appreciate everyone who does. Thanks again!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

5


	8. My Maureen

_**Here's the next chapter, sorry that it took so long for me to update. Enjoy!**_

Maureen stared at Joanne and the ring, her mouth hanging open. Collins and Angel smiled knowingly, Roger shifted uncomfortably, Mimi squealed as she jumped up and down in excitement, and Mark looked like he was going to be sick. Joanne looked up hopefully at Maureen, anxiously waiting for her to answer.

"But… why?" Maureen blurted out, surprising everyone. A hurt look flashed across Joanne's face and Maureen hurried to correct herself. "I mean, all I've been is a burden, and you said yourself that we were going to talk over our relationship. Maybe… maybe I'm not the best person for you. I don't deserve you."

"You think that you're not good enough for me?" Joanne asked incredulously, standing up. "I admit that you've made quite a few mistakes in the past, but I still love you, and your mistakes are one of the reasons I love you. You wouldn't be my Maureen if you didn't do half of the things I get upset at you for."

"Your Maureen?" Maureen whispered, her eyes wide and a small smile appearing on her face. "I'm… your Maureen?"

Joanne nodded. "I can't live with anyone but you. After we broke up, it was like… like a piece of me was missing, or a vital part of my schedule had been deleted. I couldn't really function without you. Sure, I pretended that everything was over and that nothing was wrong, but just beneath the surface, I was a mess. Every single night, I cried myself to sleep because you weren't there. My calm surface was beginning to crack, and I think that if I had kept it up for much longer, I would have just broken down."

"But… why are you asking to marry me now?" Maureen asked, still confused. "I mean, I'm pretty much an invalid right now, useless. The doctor said I'm not allowed to walk, or move much, or try to work, or anything. I'm going to be useless for months."

"I'm asking you to marry me because… because this accident made me realize how much life is really worth," Joanne said, kneeling next to Maureen. "Anything could take either of us out in an instant, and there are so many things I want to do with you before either of us are gone. There's no day but today."

"There's a lot that I want to do with you, too," Maureen whispered, reaching out her left arm and grasping Joanne's hand. "I love you so much. And yes, I'll marry you."

Joanne slipped the ring on Maureen's finger, they shared a loving kiss, and their friends began to cheer. Collins pulled out a bottle of champagne and began to pour glasses for everyone. Maureen looked longingly at the glasses set up on the coffee table and sighed.

"I'm not allowed to have alcohol, doctor's orders," she grumbled, and everyone looked at her in surprise.

"Since when have you followed anyone's orders?" Roger asked.

"He said to not drink alcohol with the medication I'm taking because it could mess it up and make everything worse," she said.

"Well, then no one will be having alcohol in Maureen's presence," Joanne said, signally for Collins to pour the champagne back into the bottle. "On second thought, why don't you let me do that?" she asked as he spilled some on the coffee table.

Maureen laughed as Collins gave over the champagne and Roger looked longingly at the alcohol Joanne was pouring back into the bottle. "What if we drink it in the other room?" he asked.

"No alcohol in this apartment," Joanne snapped, making his step back in surprise. "There's some soda in refrigerator if you want some of that, but as long as Maureen isn't allowed to have alcohol, no one is allowed to drink in this apartment."

Mimi put a restraining hand on Roger's arm as he opened his mouth to protest and whispered something in his ear. He grimaced and went into the kitchen, coming back with a two-liter bottle of Sprite and a stack of plastic cups. Joanne handed the bottle of champagne to Angel, who put it in her bag.

Roger passed out the glasses of soda and everyone looked at Collins. "I propose a toast," he said. "To Maureen and Joanne for their recent engagement."

"To Maureen and Joanne," everyone echoed, taking a sip of their soda.

"Now open our present," Angel said excitedly. "We saw it the other day and we just had to get it for you."

Maureen looked at the present that had been sitting in her lap and tried to tear the wrapping paper off with her good hand, but eventually looked to Joanne for help, who made her way over and helped tear the rest off. "Did you _have_ to tape every inch of the box shut?" Joanne asked, taking the pocketknife offered by Collins and cutting open the box.

Opening the box, Maureen pulled out a journal with a wooden jacket covered in hand carved symbols. She stroked the cover fondly, tracing the symbols with her finger before opening it to the first page. A piece of paper had been put inside the cover and she read it quietly to herself, handing it to Joanne afterwards.

_Maureen,_

_Tom and me were taking a walk the other day and saw an old man who was selling this on the side of the road. Both of us immediately thought of you and bought it for you, after asking the man to carve your name on the inside cover. We both know how much you love to write, especially if you're writing for a protest, but we thought that instead of giving you something for you to write protests down in, that we would give you something more personal to write your thoughts and ideas in. A sort of diary, or journal if you insist._

_You are a very strong woman, and we're proud of everything you've accomplished in your life so far. And we know that you will go on to accomplish greater things. Look at what you've done already. You're protests have given Mark a job and opened up a window into the lives of people living on the streets for those who don't know what it's like, you helped Roger through a time when he didn't believe he could go on, and you're with one of the most amazing women anyone could have found._

_And even though you are going through a great trial right now, you're pressing on and striving for something better, believing in yourself when everyone else was doubtful. The doctor didn't think you were going to live through that first night, but you proved him wrong and you've healed at a rate no one had predicted._

_True, there have been times when you've messed up or made everyone mad at you, but you've always pulled through and tried to fix things to your ability. Sometimes you've taken all of your emotion out on people and really hurt them, but I think that with this journal, you can start to realize your full potential. You are an amazing person already, and we can't wait to see how much you accomplish in the future._

_Always loving you,_

_Angel & Collins_

_(P.S. This is from Collins specifically. Angel INSISTED on writing the note out herself, but I managed to convince her to let me write this out to you. You're the best friend I could have ever had and I just want to thank you for all of the support you've given me in the past. Just know that I'll always be here and if you ever need anything, just tell me and I'll do my best. You're an amazing person. –Tom)_

"Aww, thank you guys," Maureen said, flipping through the journal and stroking the pages fondly. "I can't wait to start writing in it. This is awesome."

"There's more," Angel said, and Maureen looked down in the box, pulling out a set of good ballpoint pens and a pack of mechanical pencils with refills. At the bottom of the box was another box, which Joanne pulled out.

Maureen stared at the box, her eyes wide. "You got me a laptop?" she squealed excitedly. "Oh my gosh, this has to have been too much money. I can't take it."

"Honey, it's from everyone," Joanne said. "They all decided to get you something big and that something was a laptop, so they pooled their money together and got you this. Even Mark put a couple hundred dollars in."

"A couple _hundred_?" Maureen asked, her eyes getting even wider, if that was even possible. "But… you didn't have to get this for me. It's way too much."

"Collins already downloaded everything on the laptop for you and I got you wireless internet and a flash drive," Joanne said. "You can't really take it back to the store, and no one else here who doesn't have a laptop has a need for it. It's for you, Maureen, and no one is broke because they spent money on you, okay?"

"Really?" Maureen asked. "Is this really for me?"

"Yes, Maureen," Mark said, rolling his eyes and grinning.

"Oh, thank you so much!" she yelled. "I would get up and give you all hugs, but… you're going to have to come over here because Joanne and my doctor would yell at me if I stood up."

"And you would be in an immense amount of pain," Joanne said.

Angel and Mimi both gave Maureen gentle hugs at the same time, Roger shook her hand, Collins hugged her, and Mark hung back, giving her a small wave and a smile. Joanne kissed Maureen on the top of the head and removed the gifts from her lap.

"How about we transfer you over to the couch so you can get more comfortable?" Joanne asked. Collins stepped forward and lifted Maureen gently out of the wheelchair, setting her on the couch as Angel gathered some pillows and set them on the coffee table so Maureen could put her legs up.

"I think I'm going to fall asleep soon," Maureen said, yawning. "Joanne, are you going anywhere tomorrow? Wait, you have that meeting at work today, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I could reschedule if you want me to stay here," Joanne said, sitting down next to Maureen and slipping an arm around her waist. "I'm sure my dad will understand."

"No, go to your meeting," Collins said, sitting down in the armchair. "Me and Angel will stay with her until you get back, and then we'll leave. She'll be fine without you, trust me."

Joanne nodded hesitantly and stood up. "Okay," she said, grabbing her briefcase and throwing on her coat. "I'll be back in half and hour, maybe an hour. I have to stop and get some food, too. Call me if you need anything, Roger, don't you dare try to take that champagne out of Angel's bag. Okay, bye guys, bye Maureen, I love you."

She kissed Maureen gently and left for her meeting. When she got back an hour later, Collins and Angel were sitting on the couch watching TV. They both looked up when she came and pointed to the bedroom. Joanne nodded and thanked them quietly before they left. She went into the bedroom and smiled when she saw Maureen sleeping peacefully on the bed, a look of content on her face.

_**Hope you liked the chapter. Sorry for the mix up last time, I don't know what happened. I'm pretty sure I posted the right chapter, but when I double-checked, it was a different chapter. Sorry about that. And thanks to everyone who told me it was the wrong chapter, otherwise it would have stayed like that for awhile. Anyways, thanks to all of my readers and reviewers, I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions. This past mix up just proves the power of reviews. :)**__** Special thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter:**_

_**elizabeth marie cullen**_

**_Sage DarkTalon_**

**_xEastendersFan4Lifex_**

**_GoodbyeLove15_**

**_CalzonaMojoFan_**

**_Bound Dragon_**

**_Smokeland Fredrick_**

**_lil eimeim_**

_**PLEASE REVIEW. Thanks again!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

4


	9. Broken

_**Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!!!**_

Joanne hurried around the kitchen, making breakfast for Maureen. The brunette was still asleep; the pain medication had knocked her out late last night when she had woken up from the pain in her legs.

There was a knock on the door and Joanne hurried to open it. Mark stood in the doorway, a cup of coffee in his hands. "One cinnamon latte, nonfat, no whip, no foam," he said, handing it to Joanne. "Are you sure she likes it like this? It smells disgusting."

"You think all coffee smells disgusting," Joanne said, setting the cup down on the table. "Do you want to stay and wait for Maureen to wake up?"

He shook his head. "Nah, she doesn't want to see me," he said. "Besides, I have to get to work. Alexi wants me there by ten, and I'm running late as it is. I'm sorry I can't stay longer, tell Maureen hi from me."

She nodded as he left, quietly shutting the door behind him.

"Joanne!"

Rushing into the bedroom, Joanne quickly sat down on the bed next to Maureen, wiping stray strands of hair out of her sweat-covered face. "What do you want me to get you?" she asked. "Do you want your medication?"

"It hurts," Maureen whispered, her face screwed up in pain. "Just make it stop hurting, please."

"I'll go get your medication, then," Joanne said, standing up.

"No, don't leave me," Maureen whispered, latching onto her arm.

"Honey, I'll be right back, I'm just going to get your medication and the coffee Mark dropped off for you," she said, gently prying Maureen's hand loose. "I promise, Mo, I'll be right back."

Before Maureen could permanently latch onto her arm, Joanne ran out of the room, grabbing the medication and the coffee, and then ran back in, sitting next to a crying Maureen. She quickly shook two pills out of the small pill bottle and put them into Maureen's mouth, instructing her to take a drink from the coffee cup and swallow. Afterwards, she put an arm around Maureen's shoulders and pulled her close, kissing away her tears.

"I'm so sorry, baby," she whispered, taking her hand and gently rubbing it with her thumb. "I'm sorry that I can't take the pain away and make you all better immediately. I would if I could, though, I definitely would."

"It's not your fault," Maureen murmured, kissing her on the neck.

"If I hadn't…"

"Don't, please don't," Maureen said. "I don't blame you, isn't that enough?"

"For now," Joanne whispered, kissing her ear.

"Good," Maureen mumbled. "I'm hungry, is there any food?"

"I made breakfast," Joanne said. "Do you want me to go get it or do you want me to stay here?"

Maureen looked indecisive. "Go get the food, but come back really fast," she finally said. "I don't want you gone too long."

Joanne nodded and went into the kitchen, grabbing the tray of food she had made and bringing it back to the bedroom. She set it down on the bed and Maureen carefully sat up, wincing as she jolted her leg and a line of pain shot up her back. Looking at her worriedly, Joanne offered her a piece of toast, which she took in her good hand and started to eat.

"I hope you don't mind that I'm getting crumbs all over the bed," Maureen said as she reached for a second piece of toast. "Man, this is way better than hospital food."

"Honey, its toast."

"Which just tells you how bad hospital food is," Maureen said. "Are there any pop tarts? The nurse said that they didn't have any at the hospital."

She picked up a pack of pop tarts from the tray and opened them, handing one to Maureen, who devoured it in about ten seconds. "Really, the food wasn't that bad," Joanne said, handing her the other one.

"We must have been in a different hospital," Maureen muttered. "Are there any more pop tarts?"

"You shouldn't be eating too much unhealthy food…," Joanne cautioned.

"Doctor's orders," Maureen finished. "Tell me, what did the doctor say about… about my legs?"

"That they're healing quite nicely," Joanne said without hesitation.

Maureen's eyes narrowed. "What did he say about me being able to walk again?" she asked. "And I know he said something."

Joanne hesitated and looked away, then turned when Maureen placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please," she whispered. "I have to know."

"He… he said that you… you might never be able to continue… your acting career," Joanne whispered.

There was a moment of silence before Maureen started to cry. Joanne had seen Maureen cry before. In the hospital when the pain medication had begun to wear off, only fifteen minutes ago when she had woken up in agony. But this… this was different. Maureen wasn't crying because she was physically hurt. She was crying because she was emotionally hurt. Her will had shattered, the strength that had always resided in her had left her, that independence. And now she was left laying here on this bed like a lost child.

At first, Joanne didn't know what to do. Never before had she been in this situation. The only emotions she had ever seen come out of Maureen were happiness, love, anger, and admiration, everything… except for sorrow.

Then she wrapped her arms around Maureen, careful not to hurt her. The brunette leaned into her, sobs shaking her body as she buried herself in Joanne. Her spirit had been broken, and it was now up to her to put the once vivacious drama queen back together. She just hoped she could do it.

_**Hope you liked it. I'll be updating as soon as possible. Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter:**_

_**lil eimeim**_

_**Smokeland Fredrick**_

_**Arwen**_

_**CalzonaMojoFan**_

_**Sage DarkTalon**_

_**.**_

_**And thank you to all of my other reviewers and to my readers. I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions, so please REVIEW. Thank you again!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

3


	10. Healing Joanne

_**Here's the next chapter. Sorry that it took so long. Enjoy!**_

"Hey Joanne, how's she doing?" Collins asked the next day when he came to visit. He nodded towards Maureen, who had fallen asleep on the couch in the other room.

Joanne sighed. "She found out about her legs yesterday morning," she sighed.

He winced. "How'd she take it?"

"I've never seen her so broken in my life," she said, sitting down at the kitchen table and putting her head in her hands. "She just sort of stared at me for a minute before she just broke down. You know Maureen. She doesn't cry, I've never seen her cry before, not like this. It was different than when she was hurt."

Collins sat down next to her. "I've only seen her cry like that once," he murmured. "It was when she had found out that her brother had died in a car accident, before she started dating Mark when she had just moved into the loft with us. She knocked on the door of my room, looked at me, and just collapsed on the floor crying."

"She never told me that she had a brother," Joanne whispered.

"It's a very sensitive topic for her," Collins said. "She walked around like a zombie for about two weeks after that, and then she just snapped out of it. It's like it never happened, and whenever I bring it up, she changes the subject or just walks away. I suggest you wait until she brings it up, or at least until she's a bit better. And don't tell her that I told you, she'd kill me."

She sighed and shook her head. "I can't believe she didn't tell me," she whispered.

"Just let it alone," Collins said. "She's still dealing with it and she'll tell you when she's ready." They sat there in silence. "How are _you_ doing?" Collins asked.

"Fine, I guess, considering the situation," Joanne sighed. "My dad said I could have a couple weeks off work. I don't have any really big cases right now, and the cases I do have, I just started, so it'll be easy to turn those over to other people in the firm."

"No, how are you doing?" Collins asked. "How are you feeling?"

Joanne looked up into his eyes. "To be honest," she said. "I feel completely helpless right now. I see her in pain, in any kind of pain, and I want to make it all better… but I _can't_. Everyone says that its okay and that she'll get better, but that doesn't matter. She's hurting_ now_, and sure, I can give her meds and stuff, but it isn't the same. I want to do something to help, but I can't do anything. I can't… can't…"

She started to cry, and Collins moved to put a comforting hand on her shoulder, but she just shrugged it off. "I have to be strong," she whispered. "You see, she can't see me crying, she can't see me in pain, because that will only hurt her more. She'll try to help me, try to comfort me, and that will only take more away from her."

"You can't hide your emotions from her," Collins said. "Not only will she eventually find out, but it isn't right. When you commit to a relationship, you both need to help each other, no matter what the situation is. If you hide your emotions from her, and it hurts you, it's going to hurt her, as well. You're both in a difficult situation, and you need to support each other during this time."

"Thanks, Collins," Joanne whispered. "You always make me feel better, you know. It's nice to know that you were there for Maureen before I was, and while we were broken up, even though she probably didn't say anything about the breakup. She never says anything about the people she's dated, except for Mark."

"Actually, she said a lot about you," Collins said, surprising Joanne. "You're all she talked about, when she talked, that is. She was telling everyone about how she had messed up big time. It was the only time she ever regretted breaking up with someone. She was really beating herself up about it."

"While I was at work, pretending that it had never happened," Joanne whispered to herself.

"No, that isn't true," Collins said. "Working is your way of coping with disaster, you know that, I know that, everyone who knows you knows that. You were just burying your emotions so you didn't have to deal with them. I think you would have eventually come around and gone back to Maureen."

Joanne smiled and shook her head. "Sometimes… sometimes I wonder what would have happened if Maureen had never been hit by that semi," she whispered. "I mean, where would I be right now? Where would Maureen be right now? We probably wouldn't even be back together. I have to wonder… maybe this is God's way of telling me that we were meant to be together. It's crazy, I know, but… that last time I prayed was when I was seven, and now… now I'm starting to believe in God again. And I've started praying again."

"Angel would say that was wonderful," Collins said, smiling. "But you know that I don't believe in that sort of stuff. At least, not yet. I have a feeling Angel's going to do something that's going to drag me into it. She has a way of doing that sort of stuff, you know?"

"Yeah, Maureen does it, too," she whispered. "That's the only reason I kept going back to her. I couldn't stay away, she would always drag me back. And I was always the one who was grateful that she would take me back instead of the other way around."

"Joanne!" Maureen yelled, and Joanne shot up out of her seat, rushing into the living room and to Maureen's side.

"What's wrong?" Joanne asked frantically.

"Nothing," Maureen sighed, closing her eyes. "I just wanted to know where you were. I thought… maybe you had left me again."

"What do you mean by 'left?'" Joanne asked slowly.

"I'm scared that you'll break up with me," Maureen whispered.

"Maureen, I love you, and that's never going to happen again," Joanne said. "Next time, we're just going to talk through it, okay? And I'm not going to leave you, not now, not ever."

"Good," Maureen whispered. "Hey Collins, what're you doing here?"

"I was just talking to Joanne," he said. "Just thought she would need some company that wasn't going loopy on meds. Who knows what's going on in that mind of yours?"

"So you didn't come to check up on me?" Maureen asked, feigning offense.

He shook his head. "Nope, just Joanne."

"Fine, don't talk to me then," Maureen said, turning her head away. "And get out of the room, I don't want to be near you."

"Aw, come on, of course I came to see you, too," Collins said, laughing.

"Okay," Maureen said, also smiling. "How've you and Angel been doing?"

"Pretty good," he said. "I'm taking her out on a date tonight. We're going to a restaurant and then I'm going to take her to see a show. We'll tell you how it is."

Maureen was quiet for a moment. "Yeah, tell me how it is," she whispered after a moment. "What are you going to see?"

"_Les Misérables_," Collins said. "We're seeing it on Broadway, I got the tickets a couple months ago, but don't tell Angel, she doesn't know yet. She thinks that we're just going out to eat."

"That's the one I tried out for," she whispered. "I tried out for Fantine. I was so sure that I was going to get the part."

"I'm sure they loved you," Collins said, sitting down next to her gently. "Once you get better, you're going to be able to try out again, and you'll definitely get the part."

Maureen shook her head. "I'm never going to try out again," she said. "Even if I heal all the way, I'm… I'm going back to college and I'm going to get a degree in something."

"Do you really…" Joanne started.

"It's the only way," Maureen whispered.

Joanne opened her mouth to speak again, but Collins shook his head at her, motioning for her to be quiet. "Hey, Maureen, I have to go meet Angel," he said. "We have a Life Support meeting in about fifteen minutes. I'll be back tomorrow to tell you how the show was."

"Bye," Maureen whispered.

"I'll walk you to the door," Joanne said, following Collins out. "Maureen, I'll be right back."

They stepped out into the hall and Joanne looked at Collins desperately. "There has to be something you can do," she whispered urgently. "You and I both know that she doesn't want to go back to college. She wants to act and sing and dance, and now she's all mixed up. Do you think hitting her head messed her up?"

He shook his head. "No, I think she wants to try out again," he said. "She's just deluding herself into thinking that she doesn't want to so that if she can't try out again, she won't be as disappointed. It happens. She'll come around, though."

"It scares me when she does that," Joanne said, and Collins pulled her into a hug. She leaned on his shoulder and started to cry, the sobs wracking her body as she clung to him. He rubbed her back comfortingly, whispering in her ear.

"Everything is going to be okay," he whispered. "It's going to be fine. Look, I'll stop by tonight after the show and check up on you two. I'm going to see Mimi at the Life Support meeting and I'll send her over afterwards, and Roger, too, if he isn't working."

"Where _does_ he work?" Joanne asked. "He never told me."

"He sells guitars at some place," Collins said. "The guy who was working recognized him from when he used to play with a band and he almost instantly got the job. He's working a lot, now, and I think he's planning on going to college and trying to get a degree in music or something. It's kind of weird, in my opinion."

"Roger? In college?" Joanne asked.

"I know," he laughed. "I've got to get going. If you need anything, call the loft. I think Mark is there and he'll come over."

"Thanks again, Collins," Joanne said. "You have no idea how much you've helped me out."

He shook his head. "I only wish I could do more," he said. "I'll be back."

She watched him walk down the hall and then turned to go back into her apartment where Maureen was waiting for her. Collins had helped her more than he could ever know.

_**Hope you liked it! That's how I've always imagined Collins to be, hope you liked him! He's always seemed like the kind of guy who's really comforting and always makes you feel better. Well, anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter:**_

_**lil eimeim**_

_**CalzonaMojoFan**_

_**Sage DarkTalon**_

_**.**_

_**And thank you to all of my other reviewers and to my readers. I really appreciate all thoughts, comments, and suggestions, so REVIEW PLEASE!!! Thank you again!**_

_**ReallyObsessiveWriter**_

4


End file.
